Each year, area authors submit their first ten pages of their novel to the Henery Press First Chapter Contest, sponsored by the Frisco Public Library. Henery Press, an award-winning local publishing company, reviews the entries and selects the winner.

And for the second year in a row, a DFW Writers' Workshop Member has claimed first prize.

The 2015 First Chapter Contest winner is...(drum roll please)...our president and fearless leader... 

Brooke Fossey!

For those who don't know her, Brooke is a hard-bitten literary gunner who holds a Bachelors in Engineering from Texas A&M and a Masters of Technical Management from Embry Riddle, both of which she’s holstered in favor of raising her four kids with her hubby, Matt. She is also a blogger for Carve Magazine. Find Brooke on Twitter as @BAFossey.

Brooke's first chapter from her book, The Parting Hour, will be featured at friscolibrary.com and professionally reviewed by Henery Press. She joins last year's winners and DFWWW members, George Goldthwaite and Melissa Lenhardt.

Join us any Wednesday night at 7:00 pm at The Simmons Center in Euless to see how DFWWW authors keep bringing home the wins.

A funny thing happened on the way to the couch last week.

I got an email from Barnes & Noble, saying "hey, we're super excited about doing your book launch on the 28th, but apparently the book's on back-order from the publisher, so...we might not actually have any for the party."

At this time last year, I would have been on the ceiling, the phone, and then the bottle. This time, though, I just looked at the email and thought, "Huh. Wonder how that's going to play out."

And that, friends, is the difference between the first book and the second one.

I know everyone likes to use the whole "your book is your baby" metaphor, but I'd like to propose a new one here: your book is your bae (boyfriend or girlfriend, in traditional parlance) – and if you think about what you were like during your first-ever dating relationship, you might start to see my logic.

You know what I mean. When you're new, nothing is not a huge deal. There's the euphoria and giddiness and over-the-moon feeling, sure – but there's also insecurity, jealousy, awkwardness, possessiveness, overreaction, disappointment, and usually at least one emotional atom-bomb somewhere along the way. It's very, very rare to marry the first person you ever date, and rarer still to become a bestselling success on the first book you ever write... but try telling that to your endocrine system.

So here I sit on the eve of my second book release (or maybe not – I'm not exactly sure whether it's the 24th or the 31st, which is another on that whole long list of things that I'm so, so happy not to have to be ruinously anxious about anymore). And to be honest, I'm feeling r

ather zen about the whole thing. I'm sure it won't last – it's not like you're James Bond on your second time out of the gate either – and that soon I'll be right back to fumbling sweatily at my career's bra-clasps in the back of the family Subaru. But at this exact moment, it is just divinely delightful to have a reprieve from those huge, heartbreaking highs and lows of the first time around, and to get a sweet little taste of emotional equilibrium.

Because at the end of the day, what you learn from your first book makes you a better author for your second. Your second does likewise for your third. I'm not sure you ever get less invested or less passionate about your literary relationships – I certainly hope not! – but every step you make towards maturity and self-sufficiency brings you that much closer to writing happily ever after.

- Tex Thompson, DFWWW member since 2012

Book Signing With DFWWW Member Extraordinaire, Author Arianne "Tex" Thompson!

Tex will be at the Barnes & Noble at the Shops at North East Mall in Hurst, Texas on Saturday March 28, 2015 at 3:00 PM signing copies of her newest novel, Medicine for the Dead.

This is the second book in the Children of the Drought series.

We hope to see you there!

For more information, click here.

Barnes & Noble
Shops at North East Mall
861 NE Mall Blvd, Hurst, TX 76053, 817-284-1244

Two of DFW Writers' Workshop's own -- Rosemary Clement-Moore and Jenny Martin -- will join with 40+ other authors at this year's North Texas Teen Book Festival on March 7th, 2015 at the Irving Convention Center.



"The NORTH TEXAS TEEN BOOK FESTIVAL strives to connect our reading community, adding dimension to the reading experience through diverse author panels and dynamic discussions in a safe and fun environment."

Visit Rosemary and Jenny and the rest of your favorite YA and Middle Grade authors for a day of panel discussions and book signings*.

(* Click to see the festival's signing policy.)

A good day for a member is a good day for us, and Jenny Martin just gifted the workshop with a whopper. To start the New Year, she’s released her first official book trailer and landed on a national publication’s must-read list.

Dial Penguin will release Jenny’s book, Tracked, in May of this year. We’ve been anxiously awaiting its arrival, and it turns out we’re not the only ones.

Huffing Post recently listed Tracked on their shortlist of the most anticipated YA debuts for 2015. Catch the article here.

And while you’re waiting until May to get your hands on the goods, watch the book trailer and join Tracked’s official crew. Jenny has swag, exclusive content, and prizes for the team…one we’re proud to be a part of.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg5ZyIVNiEE[/embed]